Kolkatta Test: 3rd day's statistical highlights...
Mohandas Menon
McGrath's wicket of Venkatapathy Raju was his 550th of his first-class career in 123 matches since his first-class debut in 1992-93. Incidentally, yesterday it was the turn of fellow pace bowler Michael Kasprowicz to take 550 first-class wickets. McGrath is now the 43rd Australian bowler to take 550 or more first-class wickets during a career.
India has been asked to follow-on for the 27th time by opponents in Tests. This was the fifth occasion Australia was enforcing a follow-on on India. Keeping in view India's record of losing 20 "followed-on" matches out of the 26, it would be difficult for India to save this Test match despite Laxman's heroic efforts.
The last team to enforce a follow-on on the Indian team was New Zealand at Christchurch in February 1990, when the Kiwis won the Test by 10 wickets. Meanwhile, the last occasion a visiting team did so against India was the West Indies at Kanpur in October 1983. India had then lost the Test by an innings and 83 runs.
The 52 run partnership between SS Das and S Ramesh was India's first fifty-plus stand for the opening wicket against Australia since the 50 put on by Navjot Singh Sidhu and Laxman in the second innings at Bangalore in March 1998. Since then Indian openers had failed in nine consecutive innings to put on a decent partnership against this team.
Das became the fifth Indian batsman to be dismissed "hit-wicket" against Australia in Tests. He now also holds the dubious distinction of being the only fourth Indian opener to be dismissed in this manner and the only one to do so on Indian soil. The others being Madhav Apte (v WI at Georgetown, March 1953), Abid Ali (v Aus at Sydney, January 1968) and Dilip Vengsarkar (v Aus at Brisbane, December 1977).
The catch of Tendulkar off the bowling of Gillespie was Adam Gilchrist's 400th of his first-class career in 96 matches. In addition he also has 21 stumpings to his credit. He now becomes the only seventh Australian wicket-keeper in first-class cricket to take 400 catches behind the wicket. The others to do so are: Rodney Marsh (788 catches in 241 matches), Ian Healy (698 in 231), Wally Grout (471 in 178) and Darren Berry (459 in 126), Barry Jarman (426 in 186) and Tim Zoehrer (411 in 144). Gilchrist at the end of the day has taken his catches tally to 401.
VVS Laxman during his magnificient hundred, when on 75 reached his 1000 runs of his Test career. Playing in his 21st Test and 37th innings he now becomes the 45th Indian and the 360th Test batsman to achieve this milestone.
Laxman's only other hundred was also against the Aussies when he scored 167 at Sydney in January 2000. He also has a 95 against them at this same venue in March 1998. Incidentally Laxman scored his 28th hundred of his first-class career in 91 matches.
Laxman, while scoring 33 out of the 59 runs he made in the first innings and an unbeaten 109 in the second innings missed out an unique opportunity of becoming the only second batsman in Test history to record two separate fifty-plus scores on the same day of a Test match. Former Australian all-rounder Monty Noble is the only the batsman to have done so - when on the second day of Ashes Test match at Old Trafford, Manchester on July 18, 1899 - he scored 60 not out in 190 minutes (11:25am to 3:30 pm) in the first innings and then came out to open the innings when Australia were compelled to follow-on. At close he had scored a further 59 (not out) in 150 minutes.
The 117-run partnership between Laxman and Sourav Ganguly just failed to better India's best for the fourth wicket at this venue. The best still remains as the 123 between Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin against England in January 1993. However it was the best at this venue against Australia. The pairs of Chetan Chauhan and Yashpal Sharma and Rahul Dravid and Azharuddin - had twice put on 53 runs in October 1979 and March 1998 respectively.
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